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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me remember the "Christmas spirit" after Christmas! Amen.
John the Baptist was teaching people that Jesus was coming soon, and they were excited. "What can we do to get ready?" they asked. John told them: "Whoever has two coats, give one to the person who has none. If you have food, give away the extra. Don't take more money than you need, and be happy with what you have."

It's easy to be generous at this time of year. Churches are having clothing collections, dinners for the poor and "giving trees" to buy presents for needy kids; every store you pass seems to have a bell-ringer out front hoping you'll drop a quarter in a bucket.

Since it's also the time of year when Jesus is coming soon at Christmas and people give each other gifts, you're probably in a generous mood! In this week's Gospel (Luke 3:10-18), even the people who were waiting for Jesus to start teaching were excited.

While most kids are making Christmas lists of presents they'd like to get, most are also listing presents to give to other people. You might be busy making gifts for your parents, brothers and sisters - and even drawing cards or making crafts in religion classes to give to lonely strangers and old people.

"What can we do to get ready for Jesus?" was the question everyone was asking 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was coming for the first time. John the Baptist's answer was a lot like the ideas you hear about today: "Don't just ask for things for yourself -- think about what you can do for other people."

John suggested giving away extra clothes, food and money, plus being satisfied with whatever you have. But the most important thing is something he didn't say: Don't just do this at Christmas. This is an easy time of year to be generous -- but keep thinking of how to help people, even when Christmas is over![[In-content Ad]]

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